Consumer self-activated financial card

ABSTRACT

A pre-encoded financial card is disclosed along with a system and method allowing a user to attach it to pre-existing accounts and activate it instantly.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application is a U.S. National filing under §371 of InternationalApplication No. PCT/US2006/027280, with an international filing date ofJul 13, 2006, now pending, claiming priority on U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/698,499 filed Jul. 13, 2005, which is hereinincorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the banking system, and, moreparticularly, to a system, method and apparatus for allowing consumersto substantially instantly self-activate a financial card and attach itto pre-existing accounts.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With the introduction of financial tools like debit cards, smart cardsand other “stored value” cards, consumers have more ways to access fundsthan ever before. Likewise, the number of systems which can use thesedevices, like ATMs, debit terminals, telephone IVR systems, andinternet-based systems have similarly multiplied in number. One of theeffects of this increase in electronic access cards and systems is acorresponding increase in our dependence on electronic fundstransactions.

To perform many of these financial transactions, some sort of financialcard is needed. This could be an ATM card, Debit card, or credit card,or smart card. Many of these cards contain a magnetic strip which isencoded with a unique number. This unique card number is then associatedby the issuer with one or more accounts owned or controlled by theclient. These cards are issued directly by banks or other financialservice companies, and tend to either be mailed to the client's homeaddress, or given to the client in person at a bank branch by bankpersonnel. This is a time consuming, complicated manual process.

Once the users have access to this financial card, they may performelectronic transactions with the accounts associated with the card, forexample, getting cash from their checking account via an ATM machine.However, should the users not have access to their card(s), for whateverreason, they are obviously prevented from benefiting from the use ofthese machines.

In the case where a user's card has been lost or stolen, replacing thecard is liable to be time-consuming, with the user needing to physicallypresent himself/herself at the bank branch to request a replacement, orcalling the bank by telephone and having replacement cards sent by mail.

In many cases this delay may represent a significant hardship,especially in circumstances where the user has had his/her wallet orpurse, containing said cards, stolen, and doubly so if this has happenedoutside of banking hours. In such circumstances, restoring a user'saccess to cash becomes critical, but is often complicated by the loss ofidentification contemporaneous to the loss of the cards, since both areoften stored in the same location.

Flitcroft in U.S. Pat. No. 6,636,833 teaches a credit card system andmethod which uses temporary credit card numbers which become inactiveafter a certain period or amount of use. Holec in U.S. Pat. No.6,220,511 describes a card issuance system and process which isessentially a machine which would print cards for a user. Walker in U.S.Pat. No. 6,193,155 discloses a method and apparatus for issuing giftcertificates attached to credit cards or other financial accounts. Dorfin U.S. Pat. No. 6,189,787 teaches of a multifunctional card which maybe attached to a number of different types of accounts, such asfinancial, gift card, phone card, medical, etc. Cash in U.S. Pat. No.4,616,852 discloses a system for issuing ATM cards based on paper formswhich can be mailed into the bank so no physical presence would berequired.

Spector in U.S. Pat. No. 6,578,761 discloses a means by which customerscan create ‘satellite’ cards based on a pre-existing account with thenew cards being emitted by printing on a computer, or picking up at akiosk. Cohen in U.S. Pat. No. 6,422,462 teaches of a consumer-controlledcredit card which could be allowed only certain amount of credit,certain types of transactions (i.e. meals), time or use limited, numberscontrolled by a calculator-size device, and could further be deliveredto the customer disabled, and enabled by the customer as needed.Franklin in U.S. Pat. No. 5,883,810 (Microsoft) discloses a similartemporary card number scheme wherein the user requests a transactionnumber from his/her issuing institution, which looks and is handledexactly like a regular credit card number.

As seen hereinabove, there has been much activity around the process ofissuing cards. However, there is still no simple way for a user toinstantly obtain a financial card without contacting the issuer eitherby travelling to a location where cards are issued, or contacting theissuer by phone or by mail and waiting.

Therefore, a need has arisen for a system, method and apparatus whicheliminate or reduce the problems associated with known methods ofobtaining financial cards, and which would allow users to substantiallyinstantly self-activate a financial card and attach it to pre-existingaccount(s).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide improved financialcards and methods for financial card transactions.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide pre-encodedfinancial cards for use in financial transactions.

It is a further object of the present invention to present a system thatallows customers to determine and select which pre-existing accounts tomake available using this financial card.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide forsubstantially instant customer activation of financial cards.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide asystem which permits the use of financial cards not encoded with thefinancial institution's routing number associated with the accountsattached to the card to be routed to the correct financial institution.

Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided amethod for obtaining a new financial card for a user, the methodcomprising the steps of: a) having the user select a new cardcorresponding to the type of pre-existing account intended to beaccessed with the new card; b) having the user provide sufficientidentification information thereon; c) contacting the financialinstitution controlling the pre-existing account; and d) activating thenew card upon acceptance by the financial institution.

Also in accordance with the present invention, there is provided acomputer implemented method for providing a new financial card to auser, the method to be implemented over at least one communicationnetwork by a financial transaction system adapted for communicating overthe network, said transaction system comprising at least one financialinstitution and at least one terminal, the method comprising the stepsof: a) initiating at the terminal a request for a new card to beassociated with an existing account; b) establishing a communicationlink over the network between the terminal and the financial institutioncontrolling the existing account; c) having the financial institutionevaluate the request for the new card; and d) activating the new cardupon acceptance by the financial institution.

Further in accordance with the present invention, there is provided asystem for providing a new financial card to a user upon a user'srequest therefor, comprising a financial transaction system capable ofreceiving the request, of transmitting the request to a financialinstitution and, where the financial institution has approved therequest, of providing an activated new card, the new card beingassociated with an existing account at the financial institution, thefinancial transaction system comprising a terminal and a communicatingdevice for allowing the terminal to communicate with the financialinstitution over at least one communication network, a card-providingmeans being provided for providing the activated new card to the user.

Other aims, objects, advantages and features of the present inventionwill become more apparent upon reading of the following non-restrictivedescription of specific embodiments thereof, given by way of exampleonly with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the appended drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a retail display of cards to beavailable for selection by a user for activation;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart depicting the card activation process;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an ATM transaction; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an ATM transaction using a newlyactivated card which must be routed to the user's bank.

DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, one embodiment that addressesthe problem of acquiring, enabling and activating new financial cards,is disclosed herein.

With reference, e.g., to [http://www.merriampark.com/anatomycc.htm] and[http://www.ansi.org/other services/registration programs/iinregistration.aspx?menuid=10], which is herein incorporated by reference,bank and credit cards are numbered according to the InternationalStandards Organization (ISO/IEC 7812-1:1993) and the American NationalStandards Institute (ANSI X4.13). These standards dictate that financialcards are numbered with the first digit on a card identifying anindustry group, the following 5 digits representing the issuer, followedby an account number and finally a check digit. These first 6 digits ona card are called the IIN: Issuer Identification number and the ISO/IEC7812 Registration Authority (the American Bankers Association) producesthe official record of IIN assignments, the ISO Register of Card IssuerIdentification Numbers.

With reference, for instance, to[http://www.moneycontrol.com/cards/cardsinfo/working.php], which isherein incorporated by reference, for credit card numbers specificallythe first digit signifies the system, 3 being for travel andentertainment cards like American Express™ cards which start with 37,and Diner's Club™ which starts with 38, the starting digit 4 beingassigned to Visa™ with digits 2 though 6 representing the bank number,and Mastercard™ starts with a 5, with digits two and three, two throughfour, two through five or two through six being the bank number,depending on whether digit two is a 1, 2, 3 or other. In addition, sincethe numbering is standard, it would be very confusing to issue a Visa™card starting with the number “7”. Not only would it not be routedcorrectly, but also no electronic verification systems would be able toidentify this number as a Visa™ card.

Therefore, the financial cards of the present invention typicallyrespect the current numbering conventions, and in the case of creditcards, we would further expect that credit card companies whoparticipate in this system pre-allocate card numbers for the presentsystem to use.

Referring thus to FIG. 1, pre-printed and pre-encoded financial cardsare distributed in a manner where they may be obtained by a user needingto access an account electronically 100. Each card will have printed onit and encoded a unique and valid card number, and will be grouped bythe type of account the user wishes to access, for example a Visa™ card101, American Express™ card 102, Mastercard™ 103, ATM card 104, etc.

Cards may be branded with the logos of appropriate companies, and may beencoded with pre-allocated account numbers assigned by thoseinstitutions.

In the case of cards where institutions do not provide pre-allocatedaccount numbers, cards will be encoded with pre-allocated numbers issuedby the operator of the service, whose IIN shall be the first 6 digits ofthe card number.

The user simply selects the card corresponding to the type of accountthey wish to access.

Next, information must be collected in order to be able to activate thecard. This information may be collected in any number of ways, includingvia a computer program, or by having the user call a telephone IVRsystem.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the user enters the card number at 201,provides identification information at 202. This identificationinformation must be sufficient to identify and authenticate the user.This information may include, but is not limited to, the user's name,Social Security number, birth date, home telephone number, any or all oftheir home address information, previous PIN numbers, previous card oraccount numbers, credit limits, mother's maiden name, etc.

Next the user identifies his/her institution at 203, which willgenerally be the bank issuing the card. In the case of an ATM or debitcard (selected at 204), it may also be useful to enter the bank branchat 205. Then, the user selects the accounts at 206 to be accessible viathis card.

The user will then be asked at 207 to select a PIN number for use withthis card.

The system then contacts at 208 the institution controlling the accountsto be accessed. The collected information including the new card number,identification and authentication information, branch and accountinformation is submitted to the institution at 210.

If the institution approves the request, and if the card number is knownor acceptable to the institution, if for example the submitted numberwas pre-allocated, the institution tells the system that the card isactivated. However, the institution may not participate in this system,or may refuse the transaction for other reasons, such as insufficientuser authentication, in which case a failure message at 209 is issueddetailing this.

Another possibility is that the institution accepts the request to issuea new card, but instead issues a different card number than the onesubmitted, so the system checks at 211 to see if a new card number wasreturned. If so, the new number is stored and associated it with theoriginally submitted card number, at 212. The system will then act as aproxy for future requests made using the original card number.

The system then checks at 213 to see if the institution imposed anyadditional restrictions on use of the new card such as reduced creditavailability, restrictions on cash withdrawals, inability to performdeposits, or limiting the validity of the card itself to a predeterminedamount of time, reflecting the greater risk from transactionsoriginating from a card activated in this manner, or in the case ofproviding temporary access until a new card to arrives by mail, etc. Ifso, these restrictions are reported to the user at 214.

Finally, the system notifies at 215 the user that the card activationhas succeeded and his/her card is ready to use, and the transaction endsat 216.

Turning now to FIG. 3, a schematic diagram of an ATM transaction isshown. The user 301 uses his/her ATM card 302 with the number 5900011111 222 333 444 555 which communicates via a network 303 to an ATM hostprocessor 304 which can communicate with a number of institutions305-310. The transaction is routed to Bank-A 308 because its institutionnumber 590001 matches the first 6 digits (the IIN) of the bank cardbeing used.

In this example we will assume that the user has registered the accountshe/she wished to access at Bank-A using the procedure detailed in FIG.2, and that Bank-A has accepted the transaction, returning new cardnumber 590001 1111 222 333 444 999 which is stored by the system andassociated with the newly activated card number 599999 1111 222 333 444555.

Turning now to FIG. 4, a schematic diagram of an ATM transaction usingthe instantly activated card is shown. The user 401 uses his/herinstantly activated ATM card 402 with the number 599999 1111 222 333 444555, which communicates via a network 403 to an ATM host processor 404.The transaction is routed to Instant-Bank 407 because its institutionnumber 599999 matches the first 6 digits (the IIN) of the bank cardbeing used.

The system at Instant-Bank 407 looks up the incoming card number 402,sees that it is associated with new card number 406. In one embodimentthe system simply forwards the transaction to Bank-A 405 using thisstored number 406, Bank-A then completes the transaction as usual. Inanother embodiment, upon receipt of the transaction request,Instant-Bank 406 may issue a second, equivalent transaction with Bank-A405. If this transaction succeeds, the original transaction with the ATMhost 404 likewise succeeds. If it fails, the original transaction failsas well.

Although the invention has been described with reference to certainspecific embodiments, various modifications thereof will be apparent tothose skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention as outlined in the claims appended hereto. The entiredisclosures of all references recited above are incorporated herein byreference.

1. A method for obtaining a new financial card for a user, the methodcomprising the steps of: a) providing the user with a new card that isnot yet associated with a pre-existing account of the user; b) havingthe user provide sufficient identification information about the userand on the pre-existing account; c) providing the financial institutioncontrolling the pre-existing account with the identification informationcollected in step b), and having the financial institution evaluate thisinformation; and, d) activating the new card upon acceptance by thefinancial institution.
 2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein thenew card selected in step a) is pre-encoded with a unique identifier,and wherein in step c) the unique identifier is provided to thefinancial institution.
 3. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein thenew card selected in step a) has a pre-allocated number.
 4. A method asdefined in claim 1, wherein the new card selected in step a) ispre-printed with information relating to the financial institution.
 5. Amethod as defined in claim 1, wherein between steps a) and c), the userprovides information on the financial institution.
 6. A method asdefined in claim 5, wherein the information on the financial institutioncomprises identifying the bank issuing the new card.
 7. A method asdefined in claim 1, wherein between steps a) and c), the user selectsthe account to be accessible via the new card.
 8. A method as defined inclaim 1, wherein between steps a) and c), the user enters a PersonalIdentification Number (PIN) for the new card.
 9. A method as defined inclaim 1, wherein in step c), the financial institution provides a cardnumber different from the originally submitted card number associatedwith the new card selected in step a), and wherein in such a case, thecard number provided by the financial institution is associated with theoriginally submitted card number.
 10. A method as defined in claim 1,wherein after step c), the user is advised of restriction(s) imposed bythe financial institution on the use of the new card.
 11. A method asdefined in claim 1, wherein in cases where the new card is not providedwith a pre-allocated account number assigned by the financialinstitution, the new card is encoded with pre-allocated numbers issuedby an operator of the service supplying the new card.
 12. A computerimplemented method for providing a new financial card to a user, themethod to be implemented over at least one communication network by afinancial transaction system adapted for communicating over the network,the transaction system comprising at least one financial institution andat least one terminal, the method comprising the steps of: a) providingthe user with a new card that is not yet associated with a pre-existingaccount of the user; b) collecting sufficient identification informationabout the user and on the pre-existing account, and initiating at theterminal a request for the new card to be associated with the existingaccount; c) establishing a communication link over the network betweenthe terminal and the financial institution controlling the existingaccount, and providing the financial institution controlling thepre-existing account with the identification information collected instep b); d) having the financial institution evaluate the request forthe new card; and, e) activating the new card upon acceptance by thefinancial institution.
 13. A method as defined in claim 12, wherein instep a), the user selects the new card that corresponds to the type ofpre-existing account intended to be accessed with the new card.
 14. Amethod as defined in claim 12, wherein said the new card selected instep a) is pre-encoded with a unique identifier, and wherein in step c)the unique identifier is provided to the financial institution.
 15. Amethod as defined in claim 12, wherein the new card selected in step a)has a pre-allocated number.
 16. A method as defined in claim 12, whereinthe new card selected in step a) is pre-printed with information relatedto the financial institution.
 17. A method as defined in claim 12,wherein between steps a) and d), the user provides information on thefinancial institution.
 18. A method as defined in claim 17, wherein theinformation on the financial institution comprises identifying the bankissuing the new card.
 19. A method as defined in claim 12, whereinbetween steps a) and d), the user selects the account to be accessiblevia the new card.
 20. A method as defined in claim 12 wherein betweensteps a) and d), the user enters a Personal Identification Number (PIN)for the new card.
 21. A method as defined in claim 12, wherein in stepd), the financial institution provides a card number different from theoriginally submitted card number associated with the new card selectedin step a), and wherein in such a case, the card number provided by thefinancial institution is associated with the originally submitted cardnumber.
 22. A method as defined in claim 12, wherein after step d), theuser is advised of restriction(s) imposed by the financial institutionon the use of the new card.
 23. A method as defined in claim 12, whereinin cases where the new card is not provided with a pre-allocated accountnumber assigned by the financial institution, the new card is encodedwith pre-allocated numbers issued by an operator of the servicesupplying the new card.
 24. A system for providing a new financial cardto a user upon a user's request therefor, comprising a series of cardsthat are not yet associated with pre-existing accounts, means forcollecting sufficient identification information about the user and on apre-existing account of the user, a financial transaction system capableof receiving the identification information, of transmitting theidentification information to a financial institution and, where thefinancial institution has approved the request, of providing anactivated new card from the series of cards, the new card beingassociated with the existing account at the financial institution, thefinancial transaction system comprising a terminal and a communicatingdevice for allowing the terminal to communicate with the financialinstitution over at least one communication network.
 25. A system asdefined in claim 24, wherein a card-providing means is provided at theterminal such that the activated new card is dispensed to the user bythe terminal.
 26. A system as defined in claim 24, wherein the financialtransaction system is adapted to receive at the terminal and to transmitto the financial institution information provided at the terminal by theuser for the identification of the user.
 27. A system as defined inclaim 26, wherein the information includes information on the financialinstitution.
 28. A system as defined in claim 27, wherein theinformation on the financial institution comprises an identification ofa bank issuing the new card.
 29. A system as defined in claim 26,wherein the information includes a selection by the user of the accountto be accessible via the new card.
 30. A system as defined in claim 26,wherein the information includes a Personal Identification Number (PIN)provided by the user for the new card.
 31. A system as defined in claim24, wherein the series of new cards are provided at the terminal and arepre-encoded with a unique identifier, and wherein the financialtransaction system is capable of receiving the unique identifier and oftransmitting the unique identifier to the financial institution.
 32. Asystem as defined in claim 24, wherein the series of new cards areprovided at the terminal and have pre-allocated numbers.
 33. A system asdefined in claim 24, wherein the series of new cards are provided at theterminal and have pre-printed information thereon related to thefinancial institution.
 34. A system as defined in claim 24, wherein theterminal is adapted to relay from the financial institution to the userrestriction(s) imposed thereby on the use of the new card.
 35. A systemas defined in claim 24, wherein the financial institution comprises abank.
 36. A system as defined in claim 24, wherein the financialinstitution comprises a credit card service.